Beautiful Death
by xxvisionaryxx
Summary: Bella is going to become a vampire, a beautiful gifted vampire. A blood-thirsty vampire. Can Edward stop Bella from giving in to his instinct and stop Jacob from killing her? R&R please?
1. Chapter 1

So, this is my first twilight fan-fic. It's basically just what I think is going to happen post Eclipse. Anyway, hope you enjoy, and please review, even if you don't.

**Chapter One: Clumsier than usual**

I heard the cup falling to the ground and winced as I anticipated its crash. It never came. Just in the nick of time a pair of long white hands shot out and grabbed the cup securely. He looked up at me from the ground, his eyes reproachful, "Bella..." he said it with an emphasis on the 'a'.

I glared at him, just because he was an inhumanly fast vampire. Just because we all couldn't be the epitome of grace, "You know I'm clumsy, Edward. Deal with it," I snapped at him.

He grinned at me, topaz eyes making my anger melt away into nothingness. "I do know that you're clumsy, but four cups in one morning...That's a bit much even for you."

I gritted my teeth. He was right of course; it was the fourth cup I had almost dropped that morning. I just couldn't seem to stop my hands from shaking and it was making me even clumsier than normal. I looked down at them worriedly and noticed that they were still trembling.

Edward caught the direction that I was looking in and decided to have a look for himself. "I knew that you weren't ready. In fact I don't think you ever will be ready," he said as he took in my shaking hands.

This time I really was angry with him, "Edward! You promised me. You said that you would change me after we got married. We're going off to college," he snorted here. He and I both knew that we were not going to college that was just a cover, something to tell my dad. I continued as though he hadn't made a sound, "We'll be away from everyone. You are going to change me," I stared at him, daring him to tell me that he wouldn't. The look was a trick that I had picked up from Alice; she used it on Jasper whenever she wanted him to take her shopping.

Edward sighed, "Fine." He then looked at me seriously, "You know Bella, there's still time for you to rethink this. It's not a decision to be made lightly, becoming one of the living dead."

At this I smiled. If he really thought that I was going to back out now then he was being optimistic to the point of insanity. "I'm prepared to risk my soul, Edward," it was the truth even though it made him purse his lips. In exchange I would get him, forever. The trade off was worth it to me.

He just looked at me in a concerned way, as though I was completely insane. I rolled my eyes at him; he was still trying to talk me out of it even one day before it was going to happen. It was no use; this decision had been made a month ago when I married him. No, it had been made years ago when I first met him.

Now that I was married to him though, it seemed inevitable that I join their number. How could you be married to a vampire, when you were not one yourself? Edward himself admitted that he was likely to crush me by accident if I was still human once we were living together.

No, my mind was completely made up, that was decided. I would be a vampire and if Edward decided to back out at the last minute – like I was so afraid that he would – then there was always Alice or Carlisle to do it for me.

"You're having doubts Bella," he sounded sad yet satisfied at the same time. How very wrong he was, I was not having doubts. Every single thought that I had was enforcing my conviction that the only way Edward and I could be together forever was for me to give up my humanity.

I laughed, "No. I'm not," I said shortly, hoping that the laugh would tell him just how ridiculous the very notion of me having doubts was.

Unfortunately the message did not seem to get through, "I don't blame you," he told me, his perfect brow creased. "I would be having doubts too if I had a life, family, friends," his nose wrinkled as he said friends. He was no doubt thinking of Jacob Black, my werewolf best friend. I had an obvious inability to make friends with human beings.

I shook my head, but not so confidently this time. Jake was the one thing about me becoming a vampire that was even vaguely off-putting. Vampires and Werewolves have an ingrained hate of each other and I just happen to be friends with both. My joining up to the 'bloodsuckers' as Jake called them, was probably going to make him hate me for throwing away our friendship, not to mention my life.

I frowned just thinking about it, Jacob was more than angry with me. He was so devastated by my decision that he was wasting what little time we had left together. He had refused to come to my wedding - though that might have been because of Edward and the rest of the Cullens – he was also ignoring all of my calls though, and that could be attributed to nothing other than him being very angry with me.

In fact, Jacob was so upset with me that his pack of Quileute werewolves had promised to track Edward down and try to kill him once he had bitten me. Carlisle had eventually managed to talk them around, but they were still touchy on the subject of my impending change, they all seemed to feel that I had betrayed them in some way or other and it was true I had.

The pack had helped me through my hardest times and what had I done? I'd turned around and joined the beings they hated the most. All that I can say in my defense is that I'm in love, and really all's fair in love and war.

Edward seemed to realize that he had finally found the one argument that would make me stop for a second and think. That was all the time it bought him though, I was irrevocably in love with him and I knew without a doubt that the pain of losing him would be more than the pain of losing everything else that I held dear.

I was thankful that Edward let the subject of my change slide as soon as he found the chink in my armour. Instead he moved into the living room of our tiny house in Forks – we had bought one just after the wedding – and switched on the TV.

This in itself told me that he was trying to help me. Edward rarely watched TV, he hated it. The only other time I had seen him do it was when he was humouring my dad and watching the baseball. His eyes were noticeably glassy as he stared at the brainless sitcom that had just come on. I knew that he wasn't really paying attention and I laughed, I had found the one thing that Edward failed to be good at. Pretending to be interested in things that he was not.

"You know what I hate about this?" he said after a while, "It's boring, I can't even hear what the people are thinking. Real life is far more dramatic."

I snorted, only Edward would find life more dramatic than a soap opera. Then again people's thoughts may well be very much more interesting than what they said. I knew that mine weren't, but I couldn't vouch for other peoples', perhaps that was why Edward couldn't read my mind? I didn't have interesting thoughts; my mind was generally just a blank.

We continued to watch in companionable silence, Edward and I had never felt the need to fill every silence with unnecessary chatter. Our love for each other could be seen by outsiders even without the gooey affection other couples displayed.

After a while I tired of the sitcom and turned my attention to him. I stared at him trying to understand why such a degree of perfection would just settle for me. I couldn't work it out and I continued to peruse his face, poring over every detail of his face.

Eventually he turned to me playfully and said, "I suppose you find _me_ more interesting than this show?" he gestured to the television as he said it.

"Well, yes," I rolled my eyes, of course I found him more interesting than this stupid TV show, "If I didn't then I wouldn't be exchanging my soul for you tonight."

He sighed and looked displeased once more. I shrugged; I was not going to avoid talking about it because it made him antsy. It was going to happen and that was that, in approximately five hours I would be dead, and I was looking forward to it.


	2. Chapter 2

Yes, so this is chapter two. Sorry I forgot to disclaim in the first chapter. Nothing belongs to me, nothing at all, it's Stephenie Meyer's.

**Chapter Two: The End**

I had been staring at the clock for the past ten minutes, fidgeting in my seat as I kept counting down the seconds and minutes till Edward and I would be leaving. From my position in the lounge I could see Charlie with his head rested in his arms, a watch beside him, he was obviously doing the same thing, but for a completely different reason.

Guilt took hold of me and it took me a second to shake it off, to realize that even if I wasn't going to become a vampire Charlie would still have to say goodbye, to send me off to college. _It's not the same though, is it? _A little voice in my head told me, _If you'd just been going off to college you would have still seen him during vacations. You would have come back, if you'd just been going to college._

"Shut up," I muttered to myself.

"What was that?" Edward's sharp ears missed nothing.

Damn, now I was going to have to explain myself, "Nothing much, just talking to myself…."

"I gathered that much," he said with one brow raised, my favorite crooked smile sprawled easily across his face, "But what on earth were you talking to yourself about?"

He was frowning at me now, wearing a puzzled look that told me he was trying to read my mind, once more, with no success. "It never works Edward, you should know that by now," it turns out I'd found another thing that my beloved was not so good at; giving up, even when it was a lost cause.

"Would you just tell me then?" he asked pleadingly.

"Nuh-uh, not this time," I laughed at his crest-fallen expression. Then I bit my lip, there was no way Edward could find out that I was feeling guilty about Charlie. He'd use it against me, say that I wasn't ready, and I was ready. I was completely ready.

Edward sighed, "You should probably go get your stuff now," I looked at the clock. He was right, as always, there were only two minutes left till our scheduled departure at 8pm. Charlie was under the impression that we were going to Dartmouth - yes Edward had managed to get me into an Ivy League university - and we were going to Dartmouth. We were just taking a three day detour to the Cullens' house.

I ran upstairs and grabbed my suitcase, hastily running back down again. I dumped my stuff at the front door and then ran to Charlie who had lifted his head out of his arms, but was still at the kitchen table. "I'm going to miss you dad," I told him as I hugged him tightly.

"Bella…I can't breathe," I loosened my grasp slightly, but not much, he laughed. "It's not the end of the world, Bells, I'll still be seeing you on vacations when you come home." At this I felt my stomach go hollow, my face drained of color. This deception of my father, my mother and my closest friends was breaking my heart.

"Yeah dad," I said weakly, my arms crushing him once again. Eventually we let go of each other, "Now, I've left a month's worth of frozen dinners in the fridge for you and there's a recipe book in that drawer," I gestured to one of the beige colored cupboards in our kitchen. "I don't want to hear that you've been living on cereal and instant noodles, ok?"

I wouldn't hear it, even if he was, but I'd like my last wish to be respected and the threat seemed like the best way to do it. "Sure, Bells," Charlie was laughing again.

Then with one last, quick hug I was out the door and inside of Edward's Audi. He was pulling out his fancy car for tonight; no average Volvo would do for the eve my death. As we got into the car he handed me his phone, "Call Renee," he instructed.

I accepted the tiny silver cell phone gratefully and dialed my mother's number. I had no idea what I was going to say, but I had to hear her voice one last time before I was gone. "Hello?" It was Renee, her light voice fill me with pain. I was betraying her.

"Hello?" the voice asked again. I began to cry.

"Hello? What's wrong? Who is this?"

There was nothing for it, I needed to tell her something, but she couldn't know that it was me. If she did she'd know that something was up for sure. I changed my voice to a much deeper one, something more like Jacob's as I spoke, "I-I'm sorry and I love you. Goodbye," with that I hung up.

Some daughter I was. I saw Edward looking at me sympathetically. One arm reached out from the steering wheel to wipe away my tears. Normally I would have complained that he was not paying enough attention to the road, even though I knew that he could steer perfectly well with one hand. Not tonight though, tonight I just let him wipe away my tears in silence, as they continued to pour down my cheeks.

"You don't have to do this Bella," he said softly.

I shook my head madly at this, hysteria was beginning to grip me, "Oh yes, I do Edward," I said with a shaky laugh.

He seemed to realize that there was no way that he was going to be able to persuade me to stay human and so he gave up and turned back to the road. His hand was still resting on my cheek though, and from that pale, marble hand I drew more comfort than I could have from a fire.

We sat through the rest of the trip in silence, till we reached the house. "We've arrived," Edward said pointing out the obvious. I just nodded and got out of the car, as I did so I noticed that we were not the only ones who had arrived.

No, a rather windswept looking boy was perched on a rock at the far end of the garden. It looked like he was hiding in the shadows. I could not believe that Jacob had come here, of all places, the home of his enemies. Was he here to wish me goodbye, or to deliver another insane threat?

Either way, I was happy to see him and I ran towards him, "Jake!" I yelled and threw myself into his arms. He pulled me up into one of his crushing bear hugs and didn't let go for a few minutes. When he set me back down again, I noticed that Edward had come to stand beside us.

"Hello bloodsucker," Jacob spoke with obvious contempt.

"Hello, dog," Edward returned. His head was cocked to one side, and his topaz eyes glinting, unless I was very much mistaken, Edward was highly amused by Jacob's greeting.

I fumed, I hated it when the two boys couldn't get along, "Jake!" I admonished him.

"Sorry Bells," he grinned, "Can't help it, it's instinct."

"I'm going to be one of them soon, Jacob," I informed him. I knew that he already knew, but I just thought that reminding him any insult to vampires was an insult to me too might be wise.

"Very soon," he agreed with me, dark eyes wandering up to look at the house, "I'm sorry I have to lose you Bella. I don't want to. I'm going to try and get over the prejudice, but I don't know if I can," he sounded bitter.

"You can," I told him confidently.

"We'll see. Anyway I just came to say g-goodbye, Bella," his voice was choked with emotion; he turned away and ran into the shadows. I knew I had only seconds until he would become a big shaggy russet wolf and run further away than my voice could carry.

"This will_ not_ be our last goodbye, Jacob…" I yelled after him, trying to make my voice firm.

Still silent Edward and I walked up to the house; I was so close to realizing my dream, to becoming a vampire. Edward's face was ashen; he looked like he was contemplating something extremely unpleasant. Which he was, really. Resisting the temptation of killing me when he changed me was going to be quite difficult for him, even though I knew that he could do it, he didn't. He was scared to death that he'd kill me and then I'd be gone forever. Not to mention the fact that he thought he was taking my soul.

Knowing that Edward was under a lot of stress right now, I let the silence continue. When we reached the front door I reached forward and knocked, Edward's fist were clenched, and his mouth was set.

Alice answered the door, "My own sister!" she hugged me tenderly. Alice had taken to doing this ever since Edward and I had married, she was absolutely delighted by the fact that we were now related.

"Hey Alice," I smiled at her. She had dressed up for the occasion, in a lovely black dress that stopped at her knees. Why oh why did the Cullens have to make me look bad every time I went anywhere near them? I was betting that even when I was a vampire I'd still look plain, after all some of them did look plain, like James. I shuddered at the thought of the psychotic vampire who had hunted and tried to kill me.

However as soon as I thought this, a sense of calm flooded me, Jasper must be nearby, I thought with a sigh. "Hi Jasper," I greeted him even though I couldn't see him, and he emerged from the shadows, smiling shyly. There would soon be no need for Jasper's reserve towards me, I wouldn't be that thing he had to try so very hard not to eat after tonight.

"Hey Bella," his voice was quiet as always.

Emmet, Edward's older brother was far more enthusiastic, "Bella!" he roared as he scooped me up. "You won't be clumsy anymore after tonight…"

I punched him in the arm for this comment and was rewarded with a sore fist, "And you might actually be able to hurt me," this time he ducked Alice's blow.

"It's not fair to bait Bella when she can't do you any bodily harm, Emmet," Alice said with a grin.

"Okay, okay," he set me down.

"I think we'd better get down to the change now," Carlisle said softly from the other side of the room. His amazing gold eyes looked so sorrowful I felt like weeping.

"He's right," Edward said and pulled me along gently by the elbow to where Carlisle stood. I noticed that little Alice was following him, I gave her a confused look and she winced.

"Carlisle and I are going to be watching over you and Edward while he changes you. You know, in case anything goes wrong," I winced too. I really shouldn't have asked that question. I didn't want to think about what would happen if something did go wrong, not at all.

"Look, Bella, nothing's going to go wrong," Edward was glaring at Alice, but really it wasn't her fault it was mine for asking. If he was that sure, though, there was no reason for me to be nervous.

"I'm fine Edward. Now can we please just get this over and done with? The sooner you change me, the sooner the pain will wear off," I told him.

He just nodded and began to walk off into the house, I followed him assuming that he was going to the room where I would be changed, I knew that the Cullens had set one up expressly for that purpose. When we got there I gasped, the big bed that had once been in Edward's room was in the centre of the room and a variety of cushions were lying around everywhere. You could barely walk through the room without tripping over one of them. I turned to glare at Alice, thinking that all of this must be her doing.

She laughed, "It wasn't me. Edward wanted you to be comfortable," I turned to my husband with one raised brow. He shrugged and waved a hand, then gestured for me to climb onto the bed. It appeared that this was where my change would be taking place.

Trembling like a leaf I hopped onto the bed and lay there, waiting for the incredible pain that was sure to be coming anytime soon. Instead, Edward leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips, "I love you Bella, and I'm dreadfully sorry that I've been so selfish."

Pshhhh I thought as I kissed him back. He'd been selfish? He'd saved my life about a million times, wasn't it so fitting that my perpetual savior would be the one to lead me into the dark? I smiled at Edward and he looked back at me gravely.

"I'm sorry," he said and then he bit me.


	3. Chapter 3

It all belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Don't forget to review.

**Chapter Three: Change**

I screamed as Edward's teeth pierced my skin, pain was coursing through my body in searing jabs. I couldn't think, I couldn't speak, all I could do was feel the agony. Through it all, there was only one thing I could hear, "I'm so sorry, Bella. So sorry."

I wanted to tell him that it was ok. That this was what I wanted, exactly what I wanted. This was, after all, the thing that I'd been yearning for, for nearly a year. Every time I opened my mouth though, to tell Edward just how much I loved him and how much I didn't mind this pain, the ghastly screams would rip from my throat.

Eventually I realised that the only way I would be able to comfort him, even vaguely, was if I stopped the shrieking. So I did, I refused to open my mouth, I gritted my teeth, and submitted to the pain without a sound. It was all worth it, I told myself. What were three days of agony in what was going to be an eternity of bliss?

Eventually I had restrained myself for long enough to be capable of rational thought beyond just the thought 'Edward'. I looked over at my angel, my saviour, and his eyes were the lightest butterscotch, lighter than I had ever seen them. That must be the effect of human blood on them, I thought dazedly.

He looked so beautiful, sitting there; worry perched on that perfect brow. Not long now, till I'll be able to save you too, Edward, I thought. I managed to catch his eye and give a weak smile; the pain was still very potent. I was rewarded amply for my efforts, that crooked smile I loved so well appeared at once.

We sat like that for a while, just looking at each other. Edward was acting as a sort of pain-killer for me, numbing my agony. As I sat there, I thought about this whole thing, thinking that it was lucky that the Cullens had no immediate neighbours or else the police may have been called.

That would not have been pretty, the thought of Charlie entering this house, to find out what was going on and finding me. On this bed, screaming my head off. Well I don't think he'd have let me within a thousand yards of my husband ever again, even though Edward had his ways of getting to see me without Charlie knowing.

I smiled at the thought of Edward spending the evenings in my room every night, without Charlie knowing. Unfortunately my happy thoughts were interrupted by a sharp stab of pain, being completely unprepared for it, I couldn't help the ear-splitting shriek I let out.

Edward looked at me with concern and wrapped his arms around me, as though trying to hold me together, "Bella, Bella," he whispered in my ear. You have no idea how comforting it is to have a vampire crooning your name.

Soon he was humming my lullaby under his breath. I knew what he was doing, he was trying to get me to sleep, he always hummed this when he wanted to get me to bed, but it wasn't going to work. I was going to stay awake through this ordeal. I was...

I woke up feeling dizzy a haze of mist seemed to cloud my vision. "Uhhh," I made a noise in my throat. Why did everything hurt so badly?

"Bella!" golden eyes met mine with a smile and that was when I remembered why I was here. Edward. I was going to be a vampire, I had no idea how long it would be until my transformation was complete, but it had to be soon now.

I smiled back at Edward, even in my distressed state it was impossible to ignore his dazzling smile. He had once said that I was exactly his brand of heroin, well he was exactly my brand of morphine. "How long?" I managed to croak, it was easier to talk with the knowledge of his presence.

"One more day. Again, I am terribly sorry," and he did indeed sound like he was.

"Don't be," I managed, before collapsing onto the cushion someone, I presumed Edward, had placed under my head.

"Sleep Bella," I could hear the lullaby, my lullaby, once more. This time I didn't fight it, I just gave in to its soporific effects. I did notice at the end that there was another voice humming along with Edward, a high soprano voice, probably Alice. I fell asleep to the sound of their combined voices, both inhumanly beautiful.

This time my sleep was not a dreamless one or a peaceful one. Victoria was there, chasing me through the shadowy realms of my mind. The one place where I should have been completely safe had been invaded by her presence. Her wild cat-like hair and demeanor sparked a sense of terror in me that I hadn't felt for a long time.

Waking this time, could not be pleasant, even with Edward's golden eyes there to guide me through the experience. I screamed. My body was drenched in a cold sweat and the pain was unbelievably strong. I thrashed wildly, sound ripping from me incessantly.

"Bella, shhh," he tried to soothe me, but it was no use. Instead he gave up and just wrapped me up tightly in his arms so that I couldn't thrash anymore. He held me that way for a while, then he said, "Only thirty minutes to go," I would have missed his words because I was screaming so loud, but his marble chest was muffling my sound.

At this new information my heart skipped a beat. It made me think, thirty minutes and this heart would never beat again. Thirty minutes and nothing short of another insanely powerful vampire would be able to do me any harm. It was thirty minutes till I would be safe, and have Edward, forever.

Already I could feel the blood in my veins, it had become heavy and sluggish. My heart was, I noticed, beating far more slowly than it had ever done before. Maybe at thirty beats per minute, the rate of someone near dying, like me.

I looked at Edward happily; I was living the perfect death, despite all the pain. I was dying in his arms; just like how Antony had died in Cleopatra's, only they hadn't gotten to spend all of eternity together because he had died. My screaming had halted, I was at peace now, I could control the fire that had charred my inside and very soon it would be put out, leaving me cold and empty.

I don't know how long we sat like that, Edward with his arms around me, my face buried in his chest, but it must have been a while, because the next thing I knew my occasional screams had become snarls. My eyes, when I looked into the mirror Edward provided, were mad, rolling, red orbs.

I didn't really get to see my face, I had smashed the mirror before I'd gotten the chance to. I writhed desperately trying to force my way through Edward's arms. I was thirsty.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, I know it's taken me a while to update this story, but I've been super-busy. Um, yeah, I hope you enjoy and please review, I'll love you to the ends of the Earth if you do.

**Chapter Four**

I twisted and growled becoming more and more aggressive, but Edward's arms still refused to budge. They had wrapped themselves around me in a tight, vice-like grip that was impossible to shuck, even in my new born vampire state. Together, we rocked back and forth, my need to up and run after the nearest human was intensely strong. Why wouldn't he let me go? Why was he subjecting me to this torture?

It was impossible for me to know. During the pauses between my screams I could hear Edward whispering my name over and over again. His expression was solemn, sad, full of remorse. He regretted changing me. I noted it with a slight guilt, but was unable to stop the blood lust that coursed through my veins. It was more powerful than anything that I'd ever experienced before.

Back and forth we rocked my mouth frothing as its desire for human blood flowed over. I wanted to feed so badly that it was almost physically painful to be held back from doing so. And then, just when the pain seemed to be getting too much, something seemed to flow through me. Some force, something which I hadn't known I had. It pushed Edward's arms back, away from me. His shocked expression as he landed on the floor beside the bed was all I saw before I was off, running as fast as the wind.

My speed frightened me, dizzied me. It wasn't as fast as Edward's pace, but it was too fast for me. Still, I knew that if I didn't keep on running as fast as my feet would take me Edward would catch me and try and take me back and then I wouldn't be able to satisfy my hunger. But what if that thing happened again? What if he couldn't touch me like before?

I puzzled the matter over in my mind as I ran, my strong new limbs were immune to my previous clumsiness making this a possibility. My mind travelled as swiftly as my feet, joining up the dots so to speak, of what had happened. I remembered how the Volturi had said that even as a human I'd been gifted. That it would be 'interesting' to see me as a vampire. I smiled grimly, they'd been right, I did have a special gift.

Before, my mind had been impervious to the attacks of others. No-one could enter my head without my express permission. It seemed that now I'd been turned, this ability had simply leaked from my mind to the rest of my body. I was shielded. No-one could touch me if I didn't want them to. No-one could hold me back. Superficially and on the surface, this gave me pleasure, it meant that I would be allowed to hunt without interruptions, but somewhere deep down inside I was horrified.

_Pitter, patter._ Edward. He was catching up. Even with my new, sensitive ears his swift footfalls were light. I risked a glance over my shoulder and saw him barrelling through the woods towards me. Our eyes caught each other, mine must have been red, insane, the stuff of horror movies. His were a deep, rich gold colour. As soon as he had my eyes captive, his mouth opened, "Bella," he beseeched me, "Don't do this!"

I didn't ignore him, I couldn't. My footsteps faltered for an instant and then began again as strong as ever. The blood-lust was just too strong. And then I was aware of something else running about in the woods, something that hadn't been there before. _Thud, thud._ My ears pricked as I tried to identify the sound, but it was an impossible task. The boom didn't seem to be coming from any one direction. Instead, it slithered and squirmed its way through the trees, surrounding me. My eyes shot this way and that, but nothing was beside me save the trees.

Feeling more nervous than ever, I propelled myself forward faster than before. This new body had its advantages, no longer did my lungs gasp for breath - it was unnecessary - no longer did my heart speed up as the blood pumped harder and faster. Instead, I remained cool, hard marble, dashing through the woods that surrounded the Cullens' home.

I sniffed the air single-mindedly now. I wanted to taste blood upon my lips. My nostrils were assailed by a barrage of scents, and I had to sort through them, looking for the right one. When I did manage to extract the scent of human blood though, it was very strong. Almost overpowering. My footsteps quickened and I salivated, anticipating my meal. Someone was coming through the woods.

My nose led the way now. A fork to the left, straight, to the right and then to the middle and there he was. Recognition flickered within me as I took in a round, bubble face and carefully slicked up blond spikes. _Mike. _The name came into my head unbidden and though I had no memories of this boy, I knew that the name was his. "Hello," I greeted him, sliding closer. My tone was seductive. Why be violent if I could get this over and done with so much more cleanly?

Mike returned my greeting rather cheerily and then nodded to someone behind me shoulder, "Edward," he said as Edward's icy, restraining hand crashed down upon my shoulder. I snarled, I couldn't help it, it was instinct. "Are you ok, Bella?" the boy seemed worried about me. I nearly snorted, he ought to be worried about himself. With lightning speed, I detached myself from Edward's arm and leaped cat-like towards Mike.

It would have been all over red rover for Mike, but something intercepted me mid-leap. The shaggy, russet coloured wolf crashed into me, growling a warning threat. It's teeth were bared and it was sending me an all-too-clear message: Back off. The slithering sound that had surrounded me grew louder and louder until ten huge wolves had disentangled themselves from the undergrowth. They melted onto the path soft as shadows, the only mark they made was the whisper of the leaves their paws treaded upon.

The russet wolf's teeth remained bared, but this time it turned, slowly observing each of it's peers. It was warning _them _to stay away too. Love and warmth flashed through my heart as I remembered who this wolf was, "Jake?" I asked incredulously, eyes wide. For a second, my promises to my were-wolf best friend, my husband and even some loyalty to Mike whom I remembered more clearly now, were all I felt, but then the blood-lust was back.

It thudded angrily through my skull, hitting at my brain like a sledge-hammer. Finally unable to resist temptation any longer I lunged at Mike once more. His mouth closed halfway through the terrified sentence he was mouthing at Edward as he backed away from the russet wolf. This time I was cut-off, but not by the russet wolf, another sandy brown wolf leaped at me from nowhere and pinned me to the ground with it's strong front-paw.

Edward shouted something furiously and made towards me, but I couldn't make out what he was saying, all I could feel was the blood-lust. It made me hot and dizzy. I tried to use my mind to throw the wolf off me, but it didn't work. Perhaps this was one of those vampire powers that weren't any good on werewolves? Just like Alice's sight.

I screamed out a stream of profanities then and dug my nails into the creatures shoulders. It growled, but did nothing more so I continued to try and hurt it. That was a mistake. The creature shook its shaggy head once as if utterly fed-up, then bared it's teeth and bit me.


End file.
